I am developing a different opinion about the Wall of Sound era by listening to AUD recordings. The SBDs tend to sound "sterile" and compressed.

This is a very good AUD recording especially considering the field recording technology available back then.

And, the AUD recordings give you a much better sense of the ambiance created by the Wall.

Thanks to all who made these recordings available.

I’m not sure about this, but I think this AUD is the same as the partial AUD that is the only other source for this show on Archive. That source has a SBD portion for the playin’ segment. There are a handful of reel quivers, but nothing really detrimental. Overall this is a very strong AUD, with solid levels for the instruments as well as the vocals.

Set 1

Very solid version of Promised Land to open with, followed by a nice BE Women for 74, not too lean like many others from the era. Next up is a standard Me & Bobby McGee, followed by Scarlet. This is a kickin ‘74 version; the band really picks up steam at this point in the set. The Mexicali Blues standard but solid, and It Must Have Been The Roses is just ok. Jerry is starting to lock in with Phil and Bob though. Jerry’s tone on Me & My Uncle is so dirty, I love it. The low-notes sound like they’re coming out of the devil’s workshop. Tennessee Jed is a tight version save a small snafu early. The Greatest Story is an exceptional version, crowd reaction confirms. The China>Rider takes this set to the next level. Great China Cat with powerful feelin’ groovy jam, and then a very fun Rider. They close the set with a kick ass version of Around and Around. Both Bob and Jerry are really hammering away here.

Set 2

They open the set with U.S. Blues, decent version, the band getting their feet planted for the set mostly. Next is a good Big River, although not even close to many others from 73-74. Serviceable for sure, but lacking in aggressiveness and congruent purpose.
Ship Of Fools is Meh, I don’t like this song in the 2nd set as it always seemed to be a set killer to me. Thankfully, this one falls in before the meat of the set gets going. Average version, nothing much to mention. Now we get to the meat of this show… excellent playin’, featuring the band jumping from theme to theme in classic “turn on a dime” dead, with a few getting solid development. Not quite the monster that came on 6/16/74, but a dynamic version all the same. They segue nicely into Wharf Rat. Very nice wharf rat here, followed by a very nice transition back into playin’. They take a short tuning break here before jumping into Eyes full throttle. Very strong eyes here. Tough for it to stand as one of the best from 74 with monsters like 6/18, 6/26, 8/6, 9/11, and 10/19/74 out there, but if we can agree that those are the 1st 5 from 1974, then the 6/8 eyes probably falls snuggly into the next 5. Tuning has been managed pretty well to this point but as the band seems to be melting away to china doll they abruptly stop to tune up. Phil lets the audience know there was just no way they could continue without tuning, unfortunately they do not pick up from the beginning of China Doll, instead they move on a Sugar Magnolia kicks off. Sugar Magnolia is pretty standard off the blocks, but jerry just kills his solo before sunshine daydream. This one rolls out jam packed with energy, excellent set closer.

Encore
Solid energy for this point in the show and real nice playing on Casey Jones, and a pretty neat little segue into Saturday night taboot, which is a standard but strong version.

Sound: 8/10
Playing: 8/10
Overall: 8/10